On February 17, 2003, Guangming Daily reported the advanced deeds of Comrade Zhang Zhusheng in a prominent position on the front page. The report quickly aroused strong repercussions in the society, and Zhang Zhusheng was known as "Jiaoyuru on campus" and "a mirror of the intellectual community". At the beginning of March, the Party Committee and the School Affairs Committee of Peking University decided to carry out activities to learn from Comrade Zhang Zhusheng's advanced deeds among the teaching staff, especially teachers, to learn from his spirit of teaching and educating people, the spirit of being indifferent to fame and fortune, not expecting anything in return, being willing to be a ladder, the spirit of firm belief, perseverance and hard struggle, and the spirit of being lonely and practical in learning.
Professor Zhang Zhusheng was poor all his life and devoted himself silently. He has never been rated as a doctoral supervisor in his life, but his teaching and teaching materials have erected a monument among the teachers and students of Peking University. Zhang Zhusheng was born in Guiyang, 1940, and graduated from the Mathematics Department of Sichuan University. 1978 was admitted to the Department of Mathematics in Peking University. 1983 became the first doctor of Peking University. At the centennial celebration of Peking University, his doctoral certificate with the number 00 1 was exhibited as a precious cultural relic.
According to Zhao Chun, a graduate student at that time and now a professor at Peking University Institute of Mathematics, Zhang Zhusheng should be the first doctor in New China: "1982, he killed one of the' four conjectures' put forward by the famous mathematician Smale. The National Defense Commission unanimously agreed to award Zhang Zhusheng a doctorate. Just because President Zhang Longxiang was too cautious, the honor of "First Doctor of New China" was won by people from other schools. In the second year, Zhang Longxiang used his quick wits to invite more than 100 experts to defend Zhang Zhusheng's doctoral thesis. The scene is extremely spectacular. "
Interviewing Zhang Zhusheng's colleagues and students before his death, everyone used "brilliant" to describe the professor with a thin face, plain clothes and a disabled left hand. Academician Wen Lan is Zhang Zhusheng's younger brother. He reminded reporters not to deliberately mention Zhang Zhusheng's disability. In fact, his knowledge, eloquence and vitality make it impossible to imagine his physical defects. Because of nasopharyngeal carcinoma, he received chemotherapy 12 years. Wen Lan said: "Among the 53 graduate students in Grade 78, Zhang Zhusheng is a scholar. He is the speaker of our seminar on differential dynamical systems. He talked for three hours, and all he talked about was the frontier of the subject. The blackboard is full of erasers, erasers, erasers, and always chalk. He has a good literary attainments, and can explain profound mathematical connotations in plain language. Later, he wrote Principles of Differential Dynamical Systems, which became the earliest textbook for graduate students in China. I am still using this textbook to teach graduate students. Academician Liao, our tutor, commented on this book:' With this book, a large number of young people can smoothly enter the forefront of the discipline.' Mr Liao has never praised anyone except himself, saying that "Zhang Zhusheng's knowledge is surprisingly extensive". "After returning from studying in the United States, he accepted the arduous task of writing textbooks. Knowing that this was not an achievement, he worked hard.
Zhang Zhusheng is not a great scholar. Peking University Institute of Mathematics has 62 professors, including 5 academicians and 45 doctoral supervisors. Zhang Zhusheng didn't evaluate the doctoral supervisor until his death. He only wrote three books in his life: Principles of Differential Dynamical Systems, New Lectures on Mathematical Analysis (three volumes) and Lectures on Differential Topology.
During the interview, almost everyone mentioned the textbook New Theory of Mathematical Analysis written by Zhang Zhusheng. "Mathematical Analysis" is a basic course in the Department of Mathematics, which is equivalent to "Advanced Mathematics" in other departments. At the beginning of 1986, Zhang Zhusheng just returned from being a visiting scholar at Princeton University, and the leader gave him a hard task of textbook reform: writing a new lecture on mathematical analysis. A friend advised him: "In Peking University, only scientific research results are the foundation of our existence, and compiling teaching materials is not scientific research results." Zhang Zhusheng did not hesitate, put down the academic topic at hand and immediately entered the role. In the following five years, Zhang Zhusheng taught during the day and arranged manuscripts according to teaching notes at night. He wrote a lot of ballpoint pens, and the first, second and third volumes of New Lectures on Mathematical Analysis were published one after another.
Chen Tianquan was once the top of the "Top Ten Talents" in the Department of Mathematics of Peking University, and now he is a professor in the Department of Mathematics of Tsinghua University. For more than ten years, he has always regarded Zhang Zhusheng's New Lecture Notes on Mathematical Analysis as the first choice. The reporter asked 65-year-old Chen Tianquan to evaluate this textbook. Teacher Chen is very cautious: "There are so many books on mathematical analysis that I haven't seen them all and dare not comment;" However, compared with the books I have read, Zhang Zhusheng's new lecture on mathematical analysis is unique. I don't know much about Zhang Zhusheng, but I know that he put a lot of effort into compiling this textbook. Mathematical analysis is the most basic course in the department of mathematics. Teaching well is not easy, but teaching well is not academic achievement. It is very rare for Zhang Zhusheng to devote himself to a basic textbook. "
Zhang Zhusheng himself likes this set of teaching materials very much. He wrote in the postscript of the book: "It took five years from the preparation of the teaching reform experiment handout to the writing of the book. Knowing that it is' thankless', or bravely doing it ... "Dream of Red Mansions" has two poems: Dou Yun's author is stupid, who can explain it? " His wife, Liu Lingling, recalled that shortly after the publication of this new Lecture Notes on Mathematical Analysis, Zhang Zhusheng was diagnosed with nasopharyngeal carcinoma, and he began a long radiotherapy process for 12 years until his death.
When Zhang Zhusheng died, the "plagiarism case of Professor Peking University" caused a great uproar in the society. Some foreign students heard that the author of New Theory of Mathematical Analysis had passed away, so they wrote a mourning composition on the campus of Peking University: "Fortunately, Peking University has a professor like Zhang Zhusheng ..."
He led the Olympic national team to win the first prize for five consecutive years, and even put his life into it, but it could not be recorded in the teaching workload.
From 65438 to 0995, Zhang Zhusheng was appointed as the head coach of China Mathematical Olympic National Team for five years.
This is another hard work that can't "produce academic achievements" or even be recorded in "teaching workload". Professor Zhao Chunlai told reporters that Zhang Zhusheng is almost worse than the college in counting the annual teaching workload; Although the leaders always take "special care" and pass the customs smoothly, it is still a little wronged for Zhang Zhusheng. "In order to make this Olympic Games, he even put his life on it. I used to be a coach, and I don't want to be a coach anymore. I'm exhausted. Outsiders simply don't understand the difficulty of this job. "
Fortunately, those students who have participated in the Olympic Games know it. The reporter found Yao Jiangang, the world champion of Mathematical Olympiad and now a doctoral student at the University of California, Berkeley, and mentioned Zhang Zhusheng. He is crying: "It's been decades since the Olympics, and it's the most difficult to work out the questions. Because the contestants are all middle school students, it is very difficult to learn elementary advanced mathematics in each question. It will take at least a week to come up with a new and difficult question that can distinguish the students from the good. Teacher Zhang Can puts forward dozens of new questions every year, which is very admirable. You know, since 1990 diagnosed nasopharyngeal carcinoma, he has suffered from severe colitis, and the cancer cells have also metastasized to the liver. In the summer of 200 1, he held a training course of 200 preliminaries in Nankai University, Tianjin. He sang a "one-man show" for seven days from setting topics, commenting on topics, giving lectures and discussing. Do you know how these seven days came about? He has oral ulcer, salivary gland injury, severe colitis, bone pain all over his body, and severe edema below the waist caused by advanced liver cancer. He can only eat a little liquid food such as milk, glucose and tofu every day. "
Using half-length cancer cells, Zhang Zhusheng led a group of top mathematicians. Five years later, Zhang Zhusheng moved from Canada to Argentina. In more than 70 participating countries, China won the first place for five consecutive years, and all the contestants won gold medals three times. This achievement has no precedent in the world.
While winning five world firsts in a row, Zhang Zhusheng also won a "first" in Peking Union Medical College Hospital: he was the cancer patient who received the largest amount of radiotherapy in the history of the hospital. Once in class, Zhang Zhusheng said to dozens of young faces: Maybe all of you have experienced less pain than I have experienced alone. At that time, the students were not convinced. Now that Professor Zhang has passed away, the students are convinced and deeply regret that they did not share the teacher's pain.
The illness worsened, so we had to go without water to attend the class. He refused to take a full vacation and wanted to forget the pain with his work until his last breath.
In addition to school teaching and Olympic Games training, Zhang Zhusheng also taught in the "Mathematics Teacher Seminar" held by Haidian Teachers' Training School, which lasted for 8 years. In the first few years, he didn't take any money, and later he took some teaching fees, but whether he was paid or not, he was a crowd who rode through the traffic with one hand, rain or shine.
It seems strange to outsiders that Zhang Zhusheng spent eight years in a teacher training school, and some young teachers followed him for eight years. For example, Peng Jianping in the High School Attached to the National People's Congress, Liu Yunhe in 20, and Snow in 10 1. Zhao Dazhao, vice president of the further education school, said: "All the problems you encounter in teaching can be solved through this seminar, and Mr. Zhang is the initiator of the seminar and the inducer of the solution." Bai Xue said: "The general answers to questions in international mathematics competitions are two or three pages long. It took Teacher Zhang only four or five lines to solve them. It is simply amazing. More importantly, he taught me to solve problems in a way acceptable to middle school students. He has a great influence on me and we all admire him. "
200 1 In the second half of the year, Zhang Zhusheng's illness got worse, and severe colitis made him go to the toilet dozens of times a day. In order to have a good class, he should go on a diet one day in advance and fast and water on the day of class. The leader of the hospital advised him to get well, but he didn't agree. Liu Lingling explained to the leader on his behalf: "This is how he will spend his last days. Instead of letting him suffer in pain, let him forget the pain at work and enjoy happiness in thinking. "
Zhang Zhu was miserable and happy, and worked until the last moment of his life. At 2: 30 in the afternoon of June 65438+1October 65438+1October 2002, Zhang Zhusheng, who had lost his sense of direction, was carried into Room 208 of the First Teaching Building of Peking University by several graduate students. This is his differential topology examination room, and he will personally guide 38 students. Soon the students' grades and comments came out. Then Zhang Zhusheng was admitted to the hospital. On February 6th, Zhang Zhusheng passed away.
Zhang Zhusheng and Liu Lingling have no children. They regard a group of students as their own children. An, an Olympic gold medalist and graduate student from Peking University, recalled: "On February 1 2002, Teacher Zhang was critically ill and I went to the hospital to visit. Teacher Zhang woke up, took my hand and insisted that I sit in front of him. I am not allowed to get up. I just sat there and looked at Mr. Zhang, who was so thin that it bothered me. After a long time, teacher Zhang slowly opened his eyes again and saw me still sitting there, slowly showing a quiet smile. I was shocked. From this smile, I saw something that could not be expressed in words. "
After Zhang Zhusheng's death, the BBS of Peking University Campus Network was covered with mourning articles:
"Teacher Zhang may be the top teacher I have never met in my life ... When he talked about geometry, I realized that I had never studied real geometry before; When he talked about algebra, I began to wonder if I had ever studied real algebra. Teacher Zhang's mathematical thinking is profound but extremely clear, so that people with ordinary intelligence like me can understand it. "
"I have been to Weixiuyuan Teacher Zhang's house several times. Really poor. After reading it, I once gave up my plan to engage in scientific research. In the summer of 2000, during the last visit, Mr. Zhang happily took out the structural map of the camp and said: With the savings of Mr. Liu and me, we can also move in. I was so sad that I cried. "
"Teacher Zhang, you made me understand that the fun of thinking is more noble than material enjoyment. Teacher Zhang, please go. "
Zhang Zhusheng didn't leave any brave words. He loved education all his life, and only had work and students in his heart. He doesn't look like it.
Know how to strive for results and champions. However, people who are familiar with him have awarded him the highest and loudest title-a real professor.